By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Russia's nuclear chief said Monday that a Russian-built nuclear plant in Iran would be commissioned in the autumn of 2007, a news agency reported.
Federal Nuclear Agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko told reporters in Vienna that the "physical launch" of the nuclear reactor at the Bushehr nuclear plant would take place in September 2007, and that the plant would come online in November 2007, the Interfax news agency reported.
The United States has long objected to Russia's US$800 million (€631 million) deal to build the Bushehr plant, saying it could be used by Iran to produce fissionable material for weapons. Russia eventually worked out a deal with Iran for all the plant's spent fuel to be sent to Russia, eliminating the possibility that Iran could reprocess it for weapons.
However, Iran has resisted Russia's proposal to conduct all of Iran's uranium enrichment on Russian soil.